Colorlines' Jamilah King explains how this year's biggest sporting event will also act as a stage for some of the nation's most dramatic cultural shifts.

Black leadership. Ok, I'm biased here, but I'll say this anyway: The San Francisco 49ers' Colin Kaepernick is the future. The league has long asked itself the irritating question of whether black players are "smart" enough to play one of the game's toughest positions ...

Workplace trauma. Research shows that football players take hits that are the equivalent of being in medium-speed car accidents without wearing a seatbelt. Football is a deadly sport, and just what the league and its fans should do about it has been a growing point of concern. Last May, former linebacker Junior Seau became the highest profile player to commit suicide after leaving the game, and posthomous tests showed that he suffered from CTE, formally known as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, a degenerative brain disease casued by repeated blows to the head ...

Sexual politics. Baltimore Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo knows a thing or two about love, and he'll be on full display this weekend. Earlier this year, Ayabnejo made national headlines when he publicly came out in support of marriage equality, despite attempts by Maryland legislator C. Emmett Burns Jr. to silence him. Ayanbadejo has vowed to use his platform at the Super Bowl to continue to speak out in favor of marriage equality, even with a heavy heart of his own. His 22-month-old son is set to have heart surgery ...

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